No kidding, it's time to change lifestyle

PATNA: Children are increasingly falling victim to lifestyle diseases with incidence of diabetes, hypertension, depression, obesity, thyroid and joint problems in under-18 males and females rising considerably in recent past.

Paediatricians across the country are worried about these lifestyle diseases which they attribute to lack of physical activity among the GenNext children. Indulging in junk food, addiction to television and aversion to outdoor activities are reasons why they are developing these disorders, say doctors. "Cases of Type-1 diabetes in as young as 3 to 5-year-olds are not very infrequent these days," says paediatrician Arun Thakur.

Counsellor Varsha Singh is worried over the rise in cases of suicide due to underperformance in examinations. Anxieties, depression, worries about looks and food fads are also issues that children come up with these days, she says. "We tell children not to hide anything from friends and parents even as we suggest gradual lifestyle changes such as limiting chats on the internet and cellphones as measures to overcome psychological traumas," she says and adds she and other counsellors also counsel parents to be friendly with their children so as to make them feel comfortable in sharing secrets.

Even a hitherto old-age disease of joint problems is afflicting many teenagers now. "Back pain and leg pain are quite common among children these days," says Indian Orthopaedic Association's Bihar chapter president Dr Amulya Kumar Singh. According to him, lack of nutritious diet intake, heavy backpacks and aversion to outdoor games as well as physical exercises are the culprits. "In families where both the parents are working, the parents are not able to spend quality time with their offspring which also leads to physical and psychological troubles among children," says the orthopaedic surgeon.

Even eye problems are not rare in children. "There has been an increase in cases related to refractive error over the past few years," ophthalmologist Subhash Prasad says. Most of the schools now have compulsory medical check-up for students which leads to early detection of eye disorders. "We prescribe vitamin A-rich diet that can include papaya and carrots. We also recommend children to limit viewing TV and working on computers to one hour," Dr Prasad says.